Bio

Spanish international midfielder, Sergio Busquets, was born in Sabadell, Catalonia on 16 July 1988. A defensive midfield player, he is known for his superb reading of the game, which allows him to intercept pases, as well as for his own passing ability. He has become a crucial part of both Barcelona and Spain's successes in recent times.

Busquets joined Barcelona's youth team in 2005 and initially competed for the Juvenil A team, before making the step up to Barcelona B, who were managed by Pep Guardiola, in 2007. In September 2008, with Guardiola now serving as first-team manager, Busquets played his first La Liga game, against Racing de Santander. In total, he made 41 appearances during his first season with the senior team, as Barcelona won every competition available to them. Notably, he started in the 2-0 UEFA Champions League final victory over Manchester United. At the 2008-09 LFP Awards, he was named as La Liga's Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Over the course of the next few seasons, Busquets saw off competition from the likes of Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita in order to establish himself as a regular in Guardiola's first eleven, playing alongside the likes of Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. At times, he was even able to fill in as an emergency centre back and as part of the team, he enjoyed further La Liga title wins in 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2012–13, as well as the second Champions League success of his career in 2010–11.

At international level, Busquets was given his debut in 2009 and was called up to the Spain squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He went on to play in every game, as Spain were eventually crowned as World Champions. Then, at Euro 2012, he won his second major international competition with the side.